Taiwan - Part 3

Five months on and I still miss Taiwan. Granted that I was only there for 15 days, I should be so over it. But you see, the thing about Taiwan is this: it's quite unforgettable.

I can only think of two main reasons. Firstly, I spent most (all 12 of it) of the 15 days up in the mountains. Secondly, I'm a sentimental person, one who cherishes memories so much so that I collect keepsakes from every holiday that I've been on. I always bring a journal with me and note down the highlights of my trips and this Taiwan trip, it was no different. Stuffed in my bag all the time even as I walked up steep mountain slopes was a journal with a purple coloured velvety-textured cover that I had bought from Borders. I was too lazy to snap a shot of it so you'll have to imagine.

Journaling helps to jog one's memory and that is probably why I will never forget Taiwan. I have the pages of my journal open in front of me as I type this. Oh and you know what they say about holidays and all - it's the company you're with that makes a difference. Allow me to just say how glad I was to be up in the mountains with four of my most favourite ladies in the world: Grannie, Xiao yi (youngest aunt), Krystle (my dear cousin) and Christine (my angel of a sister). Yep, it really was quite an estrogen-driven trip I'd say. Ha.

So pardon me for posting up part 3 so late. I've been caught up with other stuff and totally forgot about this post. I suppose it's better late than never. I just know that I would rather share this beautiful side of Taiwan with you than have these photos stay neglected in the depths of the hard drive in my laptop.

According to my journal, I was at Li Shan 22 December last year and this is where I'll continue from, in this third part of my lovely Taiwan trip.

For starters, here's a photo of the cool place we stayed at which was called Swallow Castle:




I'd say the coolest thing about the place has got to be their electric bed warmer. You know the ones you see them use in Korean dramas? It looks like a comforter and it's placed on the bed under the sheets. Now don't ask me why I associate them with Korean dramas! It's true - I checked and found out that the one they had was made in Korea. See I told you! Anyway, up in the mountains where it gets really chilly at night, an electric bed warmer is as close to heaven as you can get. I actually found it quite hard to leave the bed in the mornings.

Okay moving on from bed warmers, to breakfast. We had our breakfast here for the two mornings we were at Swallow Castle, and the breakfast area was so cosy it felt like I was in my own home:



Breakfast in Taiwan is always a porridge affair. Hotels and inns usually provide porridge and side dishes like fermented beancurd:



Don't baulk at that photo! It really is yummy. Oops, I forgot that my tastebuds are weird. Yep I love things that most people hate. Perfect example: blue cheese.

Here's my sister and aunt busy over breakfast. You can see the variety of dishes offered:



There's cabbage, fried anchovies with peanuts, Chinese black fungus, the fermented beancurd thing and some other red thing (sorry I forgot what it's made of!). Oh my aunt and I loved the fermented beancurd so much we bought a few jars (yes, Swallow Castle sells their own homemade fermented beancurd). We have since finished it (duh, it's been five months!) and are craving for more. Anyone going to Taiwan soon? ;)

A little introduction about Li Shan. Li Shan, translated to English, would literally be Pear Mountain and that is not without reason. There are many fruit farms on Li Shan and the biggest one I believe is Fushoushan Farm which Christine and I managed to go to, after hiking up more than 4km.

The view on top of Li Shan is beautiful and breathtaking. It seemed almost foreign though, considering how much of a city life I've had in Singapore, with more concrete jungle in my surroundings than actual mountains and fruit farms.






We were quite amazed at the size of the fruit farms and I started wishing I had my own fruit farm. Hmmm what a lovely thought. I guess that could happen, if I one day decide to run away from the city and plant myself in the mountains (I could always come back to Li Shan eh) and grow my own pears and apples and live quite happily.

Of course to do that, I would have to find out more about the mountain don't I? So I did, and I went to the Li Shan visitor center




Krystle and Grannie




And in the process, I thought what better way to imagine myself living on the mountain than to dress up like one of them. Okay they don't really dress like that. Those tribal outfits are worn by the tribes living deeper in the mountains. At the visitor centre, I got to learn alot more about their way of life too



Like how they lived in wooden huts. Ah-huh, no kidding.




Of course they had to shoot animals for food. I tried my hand at that, although imaginary, it was quite fun.




They no stoves of course, only woodfire.

Yep, you could see how intrigued I was. I'm not sure if I'd survive in a tribe. Maybe I will?

Anyway, back to the fruits. I told you about the abundance of fruit farms didn't I? So obviously there would be loads of fruits for sale:



And that's not all. There are many fruit stalls all over the place. I just didn't bother taking photos of all of them.

One fruit stall owner was quite the entrepreneur. He sold other stuff like hot comforting pear soup and barbecued meats:







Including entire quails. Yes, quails. I ate some. They were delicious. You will notice that I avoided posting a photo of me eating it. Yea, I think you wouldn't understand why I found it tasty. It did feel weird, I'll admit. Especially since it still has its head intact. Well what can I say, I'm adventurous, to a certain extent (read: will not eat worms or maggots).

After that yummy snack, we walked about to take in the sights...











It's really easy to take beautiful pictures when the surroundings are so damn gorgeous. These shots you see were taken when I was going up the mountain to the huge Fushoushan at the top of Li Shan.

There were plenty of pretty flowers and plants... and of course dandelions!






I love dandelions mostly because they are fun. I love to blow at them at watch the small fluffs fly away.

Oh and acorns too:



Big fan of acorns. I still have those you see up there. Yep, I'm a 'hoarder'. I hoard old and weird memorabilias and keep them till I find out how useless they are 10 years down the road and decide to chuck them.

This is one of my favourite shots:



Somehow, it doesn't look like Taiwan. It feels as if I was in the woods in a huge forest.

Here's an abandoned church:




And a flea market of sorts! It reminds me of our pasar malam here:



One cool thing about being up in the mountains is the 'random-ness' of things. Out of nowhere, at the least expected places, there will be things and people and stuff you won't think would be there. I'm not sure if I make any sense. May not, but hopefully you get my drift. Here's a random stall set up by a lady who seemed to be selling fish soup. I love how you can have the mountains in the backdrop.



And guess what, I saved the best for the last.....

The PEARS we picked out fresh from the farm!



Okay, we didn't mean to steal them! They were ripe ones which fell to the ground so rather than have them rot or birds peck at them, we decided it would be better in our stomachs and so we cleaned them and had them after dinner.



I have alot more photos but it'll be impossible to post them all up so I picked out only the most interesting and beautiful ones.

There will be a part four, and five and six.... I promise.

Don't you just want to go to Taiwan right now? I know I want to fly there on a broomstick this very instant. I miss those pears.

The Miele Guide

I know I know, it's been weeks since I last posted!

But I have a very good reason. A reason that I'm rather proud of. It's not only because I truly believe in it but also because of the hope it brings to Asia, to those in the culinary profession or basically anyone who campaigns good food.

Regular readers might be aware that I've been working full-time as an editorial consultant since January. I haven't revealed much of what I do but today all shall be revealed.

And here I present to you, The Miele Guide - Asia's first truly independent restaurant guide.

We just launched Phase 2 - where YOU get to tell us which are Asia's best restaurants. Please do cast your votes online at our beautifully designed site.

Allow me to credit the hardworking team who helped make this a reality. Who better to get the first mention than the bosses. I do give it to him and S for sticking to their guns and putting money where their mouths are. I'm learning plenty from them and of course it helps to have bosses who understand your love for food especially since they themselves are major foodies. And then there's my wonderful colleague, P, who's the associate publisher. I've never seen anyone as commited to her job as her. She's one of those thoughtful individuals who wake up early just to buy 5 boxes of paus and egg tarts for the entire office for breakfast.

Of course there's also the ultra-talented web team made up of A, (who's better known as Popagandhi) the web consultant, a capable web designer and a smart web programmer. The three of them have been clocking in long hours prior to the launch day, along with P and I must say they did a great job. Seriously. I'm impressed at how they turn an idea into pixels and html. What can I say, I'm quite the html-idiot. That's why my blog is so plain and simple.

When I first joined the team, I knew it was going to be a ride but I didn't expect it to be this amazing. Right now I'm more than excited about the guide, the doors it opens and of the recognition of Asia's culinary gems. It's been long overdue I say.

So how do you vote and change culinary history? You have to first register - it's easy peasy, takes you less than the amount of time you take to tie your shoe laces, or cream your butter and sugar. Now, here's the icing on the cake - every person who votes stands to win one of three uber cool prizes that will dazzle you. Winners will be able to dine with a friend at the top-ranked restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo (respectively). On top of that, you'll enjoy a 2-night stay at a five-star hotel in each city.

What's the voting process like? First of all, you have a maximum of 10 votes and if you live in one of the 16 Asian countries we're covering, you can only vote for up to 3 restaurants in your home-country. Best yet, you need not kill trees with physical voting a la pen and paper. We are definitely tree lovers so you can only vote online and it's really very simple. All you have to do is choose the country whose restaurants you wish to vote for and you'll see the restaurant shortlist. You can then select your choice retaurants or nominate those that are not already in the list.

Trust me, it's one of the most, if not, only democratic process ever implemented by a restaurant guide. Which gives you more reason to VOTE NOW.

Want to know how The Miele Guide came to be? Read Chubby's Hubby's story. Still want more? read his latest post about the guide.

Visit The Miele Guide's website today to find out more. You can also pre-order the guide at our shop. While you're at it, how about joining our facebook group? That way you won't be kept in the dark. Trust me, with The Miele Guide, it's all about transparency, and credibility.

Here's to good food, fine company and a beautiful slim red guide that will forever change the history of restaurants in Asia.

We love Pho

I recently posted about phở, my love for it and a certain person who loves phở so much he decided to turn it into art.

Meet Mr. Cuong Phu Le, Asian-Australian Community Cultural Development Officer of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Sydney. Yes he's pictured above in a really cute I love phở shirt.

Those of you who attended the talk at the National Museum would be familiar with Mr. Cuong. I was most certainly inspired by him. You can see how he manages to fuse his interest for food and culture and present it to the lay person on the street with such enthusiasium that you can't help but be infected with the phở love bug.

I was helping out at the talk and managed to snap some shots just for you:











Yes, everyone had a hot bowl of phở at the end. It was quite a big portion and it actually tasted rather good.



I'm sure you're now wishing you had come! Ah well there's always next time. Anyway, the food was just a bonus. The talk was the highlight and it certainly was enlightening.

Just because he is the founder and curator of the I love Phở visual arts exhibition (which I hope makes it to Singapore eventually!), people expect him to know where to find the best phở. It's an occupational hazard! But Cuong doesn't mind it because it just gives him the perfect excuse to go suss out phở everywhere he goes!

He did just that in Singapore as well. I was tasked to bring Cuong around the island to find the best phở.

Okay, maybe not the best one because I got to admit that I myself have not eaten all the phở there is to be found here so I'm not the best judge. But I did do some research and we checked out Pho 24 and Va Va Voom.

Why these two places? Well Pho 24 is actually a franchise from Vietnam. Va Va Voom is a Vietnamese concept eatery I frequent occasionally when I'm craving for a hot bowl of phở. Oh and it was nearby. We were strapped for time that's why!

I don't have photos from Pho 24. I guess I was a bit disappointed that the beef phở wasn't ready when we arrived around 11:30am. They supposedly stew their soups for 24 hours with 24 different spices. Hmmm so maybe that's why their beef soup wasn't ready? We had the chicken phở instead. It wasn't too bad but it was my first time tasting chicken phở so I didn't have much to say.

So off we went to Va Va Voom to fix our craving for beef phở.





This Hue Spicy Beef noodle uses a clear spicy broth and the noodles are the same as the ones used in laksa. They're round, semi opaque and made from rice flour.

I did of course ask Cuong how he liked his beef phở. He did say it wasn't too bad but he wished it had more ginger in it. I never knew that the phở in Vietnam had ginger in it. At least now I know.

Looks like I wasn't the only one taking photos of the food..



Just too bad our tummies weren't bottomless or we could have gone on and visited other Vietnamese restaurants for more phở.

Anyway, do feel free to feedback to me if you are absolutely sure you have found the best phở in Singapore. I'll be sure to try it myself!

And if you're free this Saturday, do head on down to The National Museum at 3pm for a very delicious and enriching talk on "Chocolate in the 18th Century". Regional pastry consultant of Valrhona Vincent Bourdin will be giving the talk.

Here's more info:

An Enlightened Age: Chocolate in the 18th Century
In the 18th century, chocolate's popularity reached across Europe and the Americas. It was a time of great upheavals in society that influenced who got to enjoy chocolate and who didn't, and of advances in technology that made possible the first chocolate bars. In this workshop, learn how the history of chocolate reflects the changes in society in the 18th century.
3 May 2008, 3pm, Salon, $10

Tickets for "An Enlightened Age: Chocolate in the 18th century" can be booked online at www.nationalmuseum.sg (go to Online Booking Page) or at the Visitor Services Counter at the National Museum of Singapore (93 Stamford Road Singapore 178897). Tickets are S$10 each.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Since I'm a huge fan of desserts, it is not surprising when I tell you how much I adore ice cream. Very much a comfort food, ice cream calms the mind and soothes the tastebuds - at least to me it does. What better way to wind down after a long busy day than with a perfect scoop of cold and creamy ice cream.

Sounds like pure indulgence eh? I'm sure it is, but the point is not how much calories you consume but how it makes everything seem better. You can never go wrong ending the night or a meal with a sweet note.

Okay, okay I know I sound like I'm justifying my love for this creamy dessert that most remember better for its sinful fat content than its tempting sweetness. I can't help it! I'm pro-ice cream and I just want to make you realise (if you haven't already) how gorgeous ice cream can be. Especially home-made ones.

Sad to say I have yet to own one of those ice cream machines with a self-freezing unit. I can only dream. For now. Items like these remain a luxury especially since I have to watch my spending and pay off my university loan! So imagine my excitement when my fifth aunt passed me a uber retro-looking ice-cream churner. She found it at Cash Converters and paid only $8 for it. This machine looks more like a toy to me. I have to fill it up with my own ice and add salt to make sure the temperature dips low enough to chill the ice cream mixture as the motor churns the ice cream.

I've been using the machine a couple of times and with each try I got more confident and finally I decided it was time to try making an ice cream that I really love and have been craving for - Green Tea Ice Cream or should I say, Matcha Ice Cream:



One thing I've learnt through making my own ice cream is how simple it really is. The best thing is of course the ability to add more of the things I want! And of course to cut down on the sugar. It might seem contradictory but I don't really like my desserts to be too sweet. I'm not saying it should be bland. All I want is for the said dessert to be sweetened with just the right amount of sugar so that the intended flavour still comes through. Too much sugar just kills it.

For this ice cream, I used David Lebovitz's recipe from Perfect Scoops. I am a fan of his and I thought that if I wanted to make a good ice cream I should of course consult his recipes first, especially since they're known to produce the best results. This recipe uses a custard base and instead of the 3/4 cup sugar it called for, I added only 1/4 cup.

The result was good. I added more matcha (green tea powder) of course. I really love the green hue. The recipe makes for a rather creamy version of green tea ice cream. Next time I make it I'll probably add less cream. I realised that in order for the green tea flavour to come through, it shouldn't be overtly creamy. Hmmm I'm not sure if I make such sense! I guess it's mostly because green tea is afterall a delicate flavour and putting too much cream would only mask the tea. Okay my analysis ends here. I'll leave it up to you to decide when you do try the recipe which you can find HERE.

Oh and before I forget, here's how the retro ice cream machine looks like:



Okay, it's more a toy than a machine I think! The dark yellow motor sits on top of the bucket and swivels the metal container (there's a paddle inside too) so the mixture gets chilled as it's churned. I think it's way cool. Haha I feel like I really did make the ice cream - all my blood and sweat! More satisfying I guess, than dumping the ingredients in a huge self-freezing power machine. Ah well this will do for now, until I save up enough to get a real solid one!

Next up, salted caramel ice cream! I hope. IF I have the guts to try. It just sounds so tricky! Well if you have any good ice cream recipe for it or any other flavour at all, you're welcomed to email it to me!

PS. I love you

lf you don't like chocolate and cheese, you'd probably be bored by this post. Or you'd think that I'm just being biased because I happen to adore both said foods.

On the other hand, it might just be that I'm in love and you can't fanthom why. To some, it might seem trivial, but to me, it's the world.

Love happens when you discover your soulmate, or in this case, my soulthing! Hmmm or shall I say the dessert I've been dreaming about. I've found THE dessert and it's right smack in the middle of Dempsey, Singapore's latest culinary dream

I won't deny the fact that this is only the third time I've been to Dempsey. Until this year, I was still as student with a fixed allowance that would never suffice a meal at this delicious but a tad expensive classy gastonomical enclave.

Even if you're not familiar with the Dempsey Hill area, you would have heard of PS. Cafe. This well known cafe-style restuaurant sits right smack in the middle of the Dempsey area and has a beautiful ambience that reeks casual chic. Friends of mine who've been there rave about their desserts. This place has been one of THE places I knew I had to visit. I was elated when I found out my new foodie friend also wanted to go there. Trust me, had you been there and saw the excitement on our faces, you would have thought we had won the lottery.

Anyway, we went there on Wednesday and we were kind of lost at first. I forgot to take down the address and I didn't think there was a need to make reservations seeing that it was a weekday night. Nevertheless, we found the place, more so because the door we entered led us to this array of pure saccharine delight:



8 pretty cakes in the row - this has got to be PS cafe. It might have been my first time, but somehow I just knew this was going to be one helluva delicious night. Come on, don't tell me cakes don't tempt you? Okay, maybe I just love my desserts too much!

So we reached at 7pm and thankfully there were seats for Elsie and I. But here's the catch - we had to vacate by 8:30pm because there was a reservation at that time and they could only give us the table till that time. We didn't mind because we were really hungry.

The waiter saw me taking photos and told me it wasn't allowed. But they were really sweet - they told me I couldn't take photos of the food but I could take a photo of my friend and pan it down to the food so I would get a shot of the food still. Hmm... interesting. Well that's what I did... And Elsie took some shots too. Some photos you see here were taken by her.

Here's some shots of the interior:







I really like the red 'menu' wall where they scribbled all their new menu items. I was soooo tempted to get that dark chocolate banana cheesecake.

But we settled for something else eventually. And there were NO regrets.

Taking heed of many of my friends' advice to focus on desserts, I thought that it would be a better idea to just share a main course, allowing the limelight to shine on the desserts at the end. And that's what we did.

Oh and I would really like to give credit to whoever wrote the menu descriptions. Vivid and visual writing sure makes one drool and convinced. I was convinced the moussaka (SGD$22) was good, just from the item description which looked more like a 150 word bio than a one-liner that I'm so used to seeing in your typical restaurant menu.

Kudos too, to the chef who delivered. The moussaka was exactly as described and we loved it so much that I made sure every morsel was in my mouth. I'm afraid I didn't take a better shot of it, but here's just a version of what it looks like... well partially, after we scooped it out of the deep round baking dish:



That's Elsie, enjoying her portion :)

You'll see alot of her in this post. Remember what I told you the waiters said? Yes, I really took them seriously and 'pretended' to shoot Elsie while secretly taking shots of the food.

Sounds desperate but I really couldn't do without photos can I? How then would I be able to share with you dear reader the fantastic desserts?



May I now introduce to you the star of the night, the one who stole the limelight: Mr. Double Blackout Chocolate Cake (SGD$13.90). Drizzled with chocolate sauce and frosted with what must be the perfect dark chocolate fudge icing and served with a simple vanilla icecream, THIS dessert nearly knocked me off my seat. Trust me, it was so good until we nearly cried. I kid you not. I was smiling to myself and with enough forkful, I just beamed and beamed and kept repeating how this must be the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe. But I still stick by my tastebuds. There's just something about this cake that's so sexy and so irresistable. It's the perfect cake to have when you're feeling down. I think any depressed person will snap out of their depression if given a slice of this cake. The cake was moist and not too sweet, and the chocolate sauce was more like melted chocolate, which is fabulous because I don't really like those artificial chocolate flavoured syrups.

The cake was so good that we neglected the other dessert a little. Okay, maybe we sort of nearly forgot about Mr. Carrot Cake (SGD$8.90). The carrot cake was good too, and it was a good pairing we felt. I don't think I could have done with two heavy cakes. Mr. Carrot Cake helped provide that balance we needed. Here's Elsie consoling Mr. Carrot Cake, trying to convince him that we loved him just as much:




There's one thing I'm curious about though. I just wonder who in the world came up with the recipe for the chocolate blackout cake. Or better yet, who was the pastry chef. I even told Elsie that I would marry the person who could make me that cake for the rest of my life. Hahahaha... Hopefully I will find a person like that some day. I am dramatic am I?

Soon enough, 8:30pm came and it was just nice. By then, we were done with our food and dessert and all set to leave. We decided to head off to Jones the Grocer to chill for a bit.

A friend had told me about the cheese room and I had to go see! So Elsie and I went into the freezing room at Jones the Grocer and got a Cheese 101 lesson from the Cheese Guy in charge for that night. I believe his name was Jan? I can't remember! Well we shall call him the cheese guy then! He was nice enough to let us try a couple of cheeses. All tasted really good and each had its own characteristics. I was pretty impressed. A slight warning though - if you really hate the smell of pungent cheeses, do not go in there. The smell can be quite strong. That said, it really dissipates after a while - I think that's when your nose gets accustomed to the smell.



Can you see the cheese room at the corner? It's a bit small, but hey, it's something! It's the first time I've ever been in a room with so many cheeses. Both of us were pretty intriguied and decided to get ourselves a cheese platter (SGD$19.50). The platter came with a nice wedge of quince jelly and 3 different cheeses: a brie, a blue cheese and a sharp cheddar like cheese.







And they served it with crackers and some figs as well. I must say, the quince jelly they gave really matched well with the cheeses. It provided an opposite tinge of sweetness that balanced out the sharp and sometimes salty cheese taste.

I was really into the whole cheese tasting thing, and here's proof:



I looked so serious! Elsie was trigger happy and decided to take more shots of me in my cheesey happiness with a really cheesy smile and cheesy pose with some yummy brie:



Yep that's brie I was spreading on the crackers. I think I could get the hang of cheese tasting. I love the idea and it's amazing how much depth there is to various cheeses depending on the type of milk used to the subtle changes that come with the addition of herbs, fruits or spices.

That night was super fun and after we were done with the cheeses (no we didn't finish all, we're not gluts! I packed the rest home for further tasting) we explored the rest of Dempsey. We ventured into House and I was seriously enthralled. I didn't know Dempsey was this beautiful. Have I been living under a rock?!

Perhaps! But it's okay because Dempsey's going to be seeing alot of me, and of Elsie! We're going to eat the whole of Demsey a little at a time. We are already planning on going back to PS. Cafe, this time with reservations so we don't need to rush through our desserts!

I want to try the sticky date toffee cake! And the flourless orange cake and the berry chocolate cheesecake and the brownies....... yes the list goes on. PS. Cafe, watch out, you're going to see alot of me, and Elsie of course!



Here's one more for the cameras - can't you tell how happy we were? Well I think our tummies were happier. This was the highlight of my week. Good food never fails to perk me up. And thanks Elsie for being such great company! It's always good to have a foodie friend who doesn't fuss about calories and gamely agrees to try anything! That's the way it should be. Food is all about exploring, not limiting; tasting and not just eating.

I love Dempsey and I adore PS. Cafe and of course Jones the Grocer. The cheeses are still in my fridge and I'm going to savour them slowly, a little at a time.

Cheers to good food and great company!

____________________________

PS. Cafe
28B Harding Road
Phone: 9070 8782/ 6479 3343
(Check website for opening hours)

Jones the Grocer
#01-12, Blk 9, Dempsey Road
Phone: 6476 1512